Matthew 3:1-6

John the Baptist Begins His Ministry

1 Now in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the Judean wilderness

2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!"

3 For this is the one who was spoken about by the prophet Isaiah, saying, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'"

4 Now John himself had his clothing made from camel's hair and a belt made of leather around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan were going out to him,

6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River [as they] confessed their sins.

Footnotes

• [a]. *Here "[as]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("confessed") which is understood as temporal